This relates in general to a slide assembly for a reciprocating carriage with attached pillow blocks which serve as bearings and guides, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for compensating for inaccurate alignment of a pair of shafts therein by modification of the supporting pillow blocks.
Heretofore, one method for compensating for inaccurately aligned shafts was to provide for adjustable end-supports at both ends of one shaft to insure exact parallelism with respect to both shafts. In accordance with this method, the end supports are not firmly attached; and thus, the shafts are not as secure nor the operation as efficient as with rigidly mounted shafts.
A second prior art method used to accomplish the same result makes use of a pillow block comprising a ball bearing which is surrounded by a rubber ring; and due to the natural resiliency of the rubber, this combination will allow the ball-bushing to move to allow for slight misalignment in the shafts. Once the rubber-ringed bushing is mounted, it "takes a set," meaning that the rubber will rock into place, resisting any movement beyond its natural resiliency.